"Zhongli?"
Yuto feigned surprise, raising his eyebrows as if hearing the name for the first time.
Paimon quickly nodded her small head twice, then instinctively looked at Lumine beside her, seemingly asking if she could speak those words.
Lumine, after a brief thought, nodded gently, seemingly not minding Paimon fully disclosing everything about Zhongli.
After all, the two individuals before them were not simple people; it wouldn't matter if they knew Zhongli was the Rock God.
One was a Seelie with Abyss power, who had lived for a very long time, and whose manner of speaking and acting was five or six parts similar to Zhongli's—these two would definitely get along.
The other was the Hydro Archon of Fontaine, though a former one, she was still a deity; it wouldn't matter if she knew this secret that couldn't be told to the Liyue people.
Thinking of this, Lumine nodded again, a smile appearing on her lips, as if anticipating the scene when Yuto and Furina would meet Zhongli and Hu Tao.
And after receiving Lumine's permission, Paimon excitedly recounted their story with Zhongli.
From the Rite of Parting to the final suppression of Azhdaha, she concisely told all these events in one breath.
After listening, Furina thoughtfully stroked her smooth chin, then mumbled softly:
"So that Rock God only faked his death… Wait?"
Furina slightly raised her head, looking at the smiling Yuto beside her; a unique glint flashed in her beautiful heterochromatic eyes, as if she had gained a new understanding of Yuto.
"So Yuto had already been promoting human governance for a long time? And I only just realized it now…"
Furina pouted slightly, seemingly a tiny bit dissatisfied with the plan Yuto had been executing since taking on the Assistant Administrator position more than four hundred years ago.
—This dissatisfaction wasn't from Yuto's plan, but from Yuto not telling her!
Although there was a hint of dissatisfaction, for Furina… there was more gratitude and relief.
Relief that she could meet such an Assistant Administrator who could silently take on all her troublesome matters.
Of course, even more fortunate was that such a person was her future husband.
Thinking of this, Furina pursed her lips, complaining internally:
"This guy, doing such a big thing without telling me, really…"
However, this state didn't last long, and Furina quickly took over the conversation and continued:
"So… the people of Liyue don't actually know that their deity is still alive, and lives among them, constantly protecting them?"
Paimon nodded, saying nothing.
"Hmm… In that case, this story would really be suitable for adaptation into an Fontaine Opera or musical… Should I go to Liyue sometime soon? Perhaps there will be a considerable gain."
Furina muttered softly to herself.
"Eh? Furina, did you just say something?"
Paimon looked at Furina, who was lowering her head and muttering something, with some confusion and curiosity.
"Ah! Nothing, nothing, I just wanted to say… it's getting late, and we have rehearsals tomorrow, so it's time to go back and rest."
"Oh, I see… Speaking of which, I'm a bit sleepy too. Then we'll be going now. Goodbye Yuto, goodbye Furina~"
Paimon slightly waved her small hand, then followed Lumine unhurriedly out of the small theater, heading to the Spina di Rosula's stronghold in Grey River to rest.
After all, they didn't need to spend mora there, and as Teyvat street roamers who traveled everywhere… it was best to save mora whenever possible.
While money isn't everything, without money… nothing is possible.
Meanwhile, Yuto and Furina in the theater exchanged a knowing glance, then hand in hand, they stepped out of the theater's main door.
—Anyway, it was night, so there shouldn't be too many people staring at them at an odd hour.
…
Just as Yuto and Furina were strolling hand in hand down the deserted street… some people began to stir up trouble again.
Nelson twisted his increasingly corpulent body, looking at the tall man with gold-rimmed glasses in front of him and asked:
"Are you serious? You really plan to poison them?"
"Also, are you so sure they won't discover the bugs hidden inside the wooden boards?"
Hearing this, Khaerts sneered, seemingly scoffing at the two questions Nelson raised.
"Mr. Nelson, I hope you understand one thing."
"The reason I can brazenly come to you is because I've been fully prepared from the start. Even if they investigate those matters… they won't be able to trace it back to you."
"As for the poisoning… I think I should have thought of it when you accepted my second check, right?"
"You've clearly seen the plan yet you're asking obvious questions, tsk tsk tsk… This makes me seriously doubt your competence, Mr. Nelson."
Nelson frowned upon hearing this, then sneered and said:
"Reverse psychology doesn't work on me, Mr. Khaerts. My taking your money doesn't mean I can't expose you."
"Get this straight, you're the one who wants to disgust Yuto to expand your market, and I just want to simply retaliate against Claude, that's all."
"We're both engaging in unfair competition, but the profit you seek is much greater than mine. Let's guess… who will be sentenced more severely?"
Hearing this, Khaerts's eyes narrowed slightly, and he felt a wave of disgust in his heart as he looked at the corpulent figure in front of him.
But he couldn't lose his temper at this moment; he had to pretend to be an incompetent fool, deceiving this fellow into continuing to work for him.
Before his role as bait was completely finished, he absolutely couldn't show any dissatisfaction.
Thinking of this, Khaerts slowly exhaled a turbid breath, then said with a smile:
"You're right, Mr. Nelson, we are now like grasshoppers tied to the same rope, so I hope you can follow my plan."
"As long as you execute the actions in the plan, no one will suspect you."
"Just like the bugs and other things I gave you earlier, I've already cleaned up their origins. If anyone gets caught, it'll be me, not you, Mr. Nelson."
Looking at Khaerts, who seemed to be fawning, Nelson finally nodded with satisfaction, putting on a somewhat difficult expression and saying:
"Alright, seeing as you're so sincere, I'll continue to help you."
"This is a mutually beneficial process, isn't it?"
"Yes, yes, then… I'll have to trouble Mr. Nelson a lot."
Khaerts said this while getting up and leaving the room, not showing the slightest dissatisfaction with Nelson's arrogant attitude.
When he closed the room door, the smile on his face instantly vanished, replaced by a sinister expression, as if he was about to tear Nelson in half the next second.
However, he didn't do so. After taking several deep breaths, Khaerts stabilized his emotions, and after a long moment, he murmured in a low voice:
"Stupid fat pig… a fool who helps count money after being sold by others, your end won't be good…"
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